


Tangled Bedsheets

by TheColdestGinger



Series: Tigress AU [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, F/M, Implied hanky panky, Spitfire - Freeform, Tigress AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 00:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6542299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheColdestGinger/pseuds/TheColdestGinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tigress finds herself next to a redheaded stranger in bed one morning. She had no idea who he is, where he's from and what happened. Hopefully, with some luck, the two can work it out and get on with their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tangled Bedsheets

**Author's Note:**

> Here another installment from the series that I'm bringing over from Fanfic. I hope you enjoy reading!

Artemis found herself slowly drifting in and out of consciousness on early Sunday morning. Eventually she awoke, unwillingly, finding it impossible to return to her slumber. Slowly, the drowsy assassin gingerly opened one eye and took in her surroundings. The room was dark and humid. Against the black curtain of night, angry red numbers shone brightly from the small alarm clock that rested on a nightstand. Her usually neat blonde hair, free from its braid, splayed out in all directions. Unfamiliar yellow sheets wrapped haphazardly around her tall, athletic frame. The air smelled like sweat, disinfectant and day-old pizza. A deafening silence consumed the small bedroom, leaving the tired woman wandering through her murky thoughts.

After some inner contemplation, the young twenty-some woman sat up slowly. With her eyes at half-mast she yawned and began to stretch her stiff arms when her hand collided with something hard and warm. A chilling jolt of energy rushed down the assassin’s spine causing her body to become ridged. She turned her head to the right and saw the large snoring lump under a faded red comforter. A shoulder poked out from underneath the covers. Said shoulder belonged to a man _, a very naked man_. Artemis suddenly became _very_ aware of her mutual lack of clothing.

Quickly, she pulled up the cotton sheet so it covered her bare chest and peered over the sleeping man’s body in order to get a better look at his face. Immediately it was if a feeling of déjà vu washed over her. She knew this man from somewhere, but she couldn’t place a name to that handsome face of his in the cloudy fog that filled her memory.

Her curious blue eyes swept the room a second time, halting once more at the digital clock that rested on the nightstand. It was almost six thirty, the time Artemis usually liked to start her day, and her stomach would soon begin to complain. The blonde woman reached over to the nightstand and flicked on the reading lamp that sat behind the clock with the glaring red letters. Soft, warm light illuminated the small bedroom with a dim golden glow. The slumbering nude fellow to her right remained unbothered by the lamp, or anything else for that matter.

With the sheet in tow, Artemis slid her legs off the side of the bed and onto the floor with the intent of locating coffee and a box of cereal. The assassin couldn’t help but notice a fresh bandage wrapped around her left shoulder. She didn’t remember that being there the previous night. It might explain the familiar smell of disinfectant and the first aid kit that seemed to have exploded on the floor. Artemis found her delicates crumpled on the floor next to a large faded jersey that probably belonged to the freckled stranger she went to bed with.

The assassin had no trouble finding her way through the small apartment and into the messy kitchenette. Takeout containers and old pizza boxes were stacked on the counters. Though, oddly enough, when Artemis looked through the cabinets they were _packed_ with food. Her quest for coffee was rather challenging as she tried to dig through the overstocked cupboards that seemed to have everything but a bag of coffee grounds.

Eventually, the young woman was able to locate a small bag of instant coffee in a corner behind a massive jar of protein shake powder. Artemis glared at the brightly colored package with disfavor as she poured it into a mug of warm water from the tap. After one sip she decided that maybe she didn’t need the coffee.

Leaving the mug on the counter, the blonde decided to explore her surroundings. Her bare feet felt sticky against the linoleum floor as she strolled back into the bedroom. The redheaded man remained sprawled out on the bed. Artemis found herself watching—admiring—the sleeping stranger. She could feel it inside of her that he meant something to her, but what that something was she could not remember. It was like his name rested on the tip of her tongue; the memory was just out of her reach.

Artemis wondered if she should wake him up, he could give her answers, but she didn’t know if she wanted the answers he had. Ultimately she decided against it, Mr. No Name wouldn’t sleep forever and she could be patient.

A loud complaint from her famished stomach caused the woman to find her way back into the messy kitchen. She quickly located a clean pan in one of the cabinets and some eggs and bacon in the fridge. Soon the air filled with the warm scent of breakfast and Artemis took a seat at the small dining table with her sizzling plate of scrambled eggs. She barely gave herself time to breathe as she gobbled up her small, slightly burned meal. The assassin hadn’t realized how famished she actually was. With Mr. No Name still asleep, Artemis decided to explore the rest of the apartment out of boredom.

She flipped on the light of the bathroom and immediately something caught her eye. Bright, scarlet fabric peaked out from under an old blue towel. Artemis picked up the familiar red material and held it out in front of her. Then, like a freight train, it hit her as the spandex unfurled revealing the gold lightning bolt. Suddenly the fog lifted and the memories of the previous flooded her mind. For what seemed like ten minutes, she stood there in complete shock.

 _She slept with him! She actually slept with him._ She couldn’t believe it. No, she _wouldn’t_ believe it. She barley knew him, well the real him. The man behind the mask was a mystery to her. Hell, she didn’t even know his real name.

What would her mother say? If Jade found out she’d never hear the end of it, even if she knew her sister was a little too friendly with a certain red archer. This could ruin her professional reputation if word got out. Fraternizing with the enemy is usually frowned upon in her line of work. It didn’t matter how good of a kisser the Flash was, or how great he was in bed or how he seemed to connect with her, the assassin knew she couldn’t get involved with him, no matter how much she wanted to.

Artemis dropped his uniform back on the floor and turned to leave when she caught her reflection in the mirror. She had a nice, dark bruise surrounding her left eye and a fresh line of stitches outlining the top of her brow. It was the reason she was here in the first place. Her memory was still somewhat vague on what exactly gave her a back and blue face, but Flash had somehow managed to convince her to come back to his place. He did a wonderful job stitching her up—after refusing to let her do it herself—for a superhero. The scattered first aid kit still rested on the bathroom counter along with a few bloody pieces of gauze and tissue.

Tigress finally walked out of the bathroom and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost seven thirty. The young woman snuck back into the bedroom and grabbed some of her belongings and found the rest dispersed throughout the apartment. Part of her felt that it would be better that she’d leave without him noticing, but the other wanted to stay.

Artemis eventually decided to remain at the apartment it least until Flash, or whoever he really was, wakes up. She’d rather say goodbye on her own terms than having him chasing after her. He was rather persistent and annoying at times and she was too busy to have a lovesick speedster busting in on her business.

It hurt to know that she couldn’t stay with him, that what they shared the night before could only be a one time thing. She knew she was going to hurt him, but she was selfish and prolonged his pain in order to ease hers. Artemis knew there was no doubt she was attracted to the Flash, as odd as it seemed. But she let herself fall for him, selfishly, and now this was her punishment. She would have to tell him goodbye sooner or later, preferably before someone finds out about their little one night stand.

She tossed her things onto the couch and returned to the kitchen for a second helping. It wasn’t like she had any thing better to do while she waited for the speedster to get his lazy rump out of bed. This time the blonde gave herself time to enjoy her eggs. She watched as the copper rays of sunlight began to rise out of the east, awakening the colorful city.

Artemis was halfway through last week’s paper when she heard footsteps from the bedroom. It wasn’t long before the sleepy hero stumbled into the kitchenette. She peeked around the side of the newspaper to get a better of the incoming speedster. He was wearing boxers—thank god—and a tank top. His red hair was unruly as ever, but it suited him in the assassin’s opinion.

“Any for me?” He yawned and eyed her empty plate.

“Eggs are in the fridge, and pan’s on the stove. Help yourself.” Artemis said from behind the sports section. The speedster grumbled something under his breath as he shuffled over to one of the cabinets. The assassin allowed herself a small smirk as a few boxes of cereal tumbled out of the cabinet at the superhero. She could tell the Flash was not a morning person.

He slammed a bowl down on the table and corn flakes dotted milk sloshed onto his shirt. “Damn cereal,” he muttered, scowling as he spooned the crunchy flakes into his mouth. Tigress tried to fight the smile that was growing on her sore face, but it was no use.

“You done embarrassing yourself?” The assassin chuckled as she folded the paper.

His grumpy emerald gaze met hers and the speedster matched her amused smirk with an indignant scowl. “It least I don’t look like Frankenstein.” Flash deadpanned.

“My face is not that bad,” Artemis replied as she grabbed her empty plate off the table and walked over to the sink.

“Sure it isn’t,” The speedster countered sardonically in between mouthfuls of corn flakes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

The assassin’s smile quickly faded at the reminder of what she was going to have to tell the hero. “Ummm…about last night….”

“What about last night?” Flash asked, he caught on to her serious tone.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” She sighed. “Flash, we can’t start this.”

“Are you mad about last night?”

“No, it’s not that. Last night was…” Artemis paused, searching for the right word. “Last night was quite wonderful. But that’s not the point. We _can’t_ do this.” She hated telling him this, but it was the only way to prevent a catastrophe.

“Why not? We seemed to make it work last night.” Flash stood up and tired to meet her gaze.

“First off we don’t even know each other’s real names.”

“Easy fix,” He shrugged.

“No, it’s not that simple and you know it.”

The speedster frowned, not buying her excuse. “Then we can make it simple. We can take it slow, _we can make it work.”_ He tried not to sound as desperate as he was. He was head over heels for this woman and he’d hate to lose her.

“That’s the problem, we can’t make it work!” Artemis snapped. “ _Don’t you get it_? Flash! You’re a superhero. I’m a villain. This is not how the story goes.”

“Then why don’t we write our own story _? So what?_ It doesn’t matter.” He retorted, he was getting tired of this argument.

“ _It does matter_. When the world finds out that we have feelings for each other the shit is going to hit the fan. And then someone’s going to get hurt.” The assassin’s worst fear was losing the speedster.

“Tigress, how do you know that? We could still try.” Flash responded hopefully.

“The risk is too much. I’m sorry, but we can’t let this happen.” The blonde admitted sadly.

“Yes we can.” Flash snapped, losing his temper. He banged his fist on the table and the rest of his breakfast sloshed out onto the table and the spoon clattered on the floor. The tall redhead paused and took a deep breath. “A wise man once told me to find my own little spitfire, that one girl that wouldn’t let me get away with anything, and ever since I’ve been looking out for a girl like that. That girl is you. From the moment we shared in that alley months ago I have not stopped thinking about you.” His wild green eyes had lost their smile.

Artemis shook her head sadly. “Flash, I’m truly sorry, but this is never going to work.” She leaned back against the counter. “I don’t know what you see in me, but I’m not that girl you’re looking for.”

“ _No_.” The speedster stood up wearing a hurt expression. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t think you realize who I really am.” Tigress sighed and stared at the laminate floor. “I’m not a good person.”

She’d rather live the rest of her life alone than let someone into her heart and watch them get burned. Artemis wanted things to be different, she really did, but she also knew the reality of the situation. It was never going to work.

“Really? Because from what I’ve seen I’d beg to differ.” The speedster tried to argue. He now stood only a few feet away from the blonde woman. “You have a good heart Tigress.”

“I never thought you’d be that naive.” She barked with a humorless laugh. “What you don’t realize, Golden Boy, is that in the real world having a good heart doesn’t matter. It’s what you do that matters. Your actions determine who you are.” Artemis spoke sharply with a bitter tone. Regret brewed in her stormy eyes.

“That may be true, but like everything else in life actions can change. You can change who you are.” Flash challenged. His freckled arms folded across his broad chest. “And I’ll be dammed if you’ve never wanted such a thing.”

He was right. There was nothing she could want more than to leave the life behind and her sins forgotten. A fresh start would be wonderful, though impossible at this point.

Tigress stood up straight and looked him in the eye. “Y’know a decade ago I would’ve believed that. Hell, I still want to believe it, but I can tell you from experience that change is not that simple.”

She recalled that day she defiantly told her asshole of a father that she’d never end up like him and Jade. He just laughed in her face and told her to stop fighting destiny. Of course she did the exact opposite, she fought for freedom from the life. That freedom she gained came with a cost and with that cost came a debt. It was her debt that forced her back into the life; on her own terms, but the life no less. Oh how she hates to admit it, but her jackass dad was right, there was no escape.

“I’m all about challenges, babe.” The speedster flashed her his signature grin and quickly filled it in with a genuine smile. Tigress almost managed to smile herself. Her steely gaze sank back to the floor and she chewed on her lip as she tried to find the right words to say. “So what if you’ve got a dark past. So what if you’ve got blood on your hands. So what if you’ve done bad things. Your past doesn’t matter to me. So Tigress, please, let’s give it a try.”

Artemis’ head snapped back up and she stared at the speedster in bewilderment for a moment, speechless. Finally, she sighed and looked at the speedster with sad, apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry. I like you. I mean I really like you. But it would be selfish for me to say yes, to put you through that. You deserve better than me.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” He began but she cut him off.

“Flash, you need to realize that I’m not the kinda girl you should be going after.”

“Really?” He challenged once more, “Then what kind of girl should I be going after?”

“The kind that doesn’t off people for a living. The kind that doesn’t have a mile long rap sheet and countless bounties on her head. The kind without baggage and psyco exes. The kind whose family doesn’t reply to wedding invites by sending you a pipe bomb in the mail...”

She stopped right after the speedster burst out in laughter. Her olive toned face scrunched up into an angry scowl. “This isn’t funny, dammit!”

Flash’s loud chuckles echoed off the bare kitchen walls. “ _A pipe bomb?_ Is that the best you got?”

“I’m serious, Flash! It’s too dangerous!” Her mouth stubbornly frowned as she fought to stay mad at the speedster.

The redhead wiggled his eyebrows and used his best ‘sexy’ voice, “Babe, danger is my middle name.”

Artemis finally lost her hard fought battle and a small smile cracked across her lips. She giggled slightly while the goofball speedster flashed her his famous grin. “Okay, fine. I’ll call it a truce for now, but we’re not done talking about this.”

“Y’know what. I have an even better idea. Let’s start over.” Flash stuck out his right arm. “The name’s Wally. Wally West.”

The assassin stared at the speedster as if he’d grown a second head for a moment, not trusting what her ears had heard. Then she took a brief moment to digest his suggestion. Slowly, she copied the moment. “I’m Artemis.” She paused at her last name, reluctant to divulge the information. Though she ultimately decided it would only be fair to tell him. “Artemis Crock.”

“Such a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” Wally admired. Tigress blushed ever so slightly and smiled.

The blonde chuckled at the hero. “I can’t believe you’re parents named you Wally.”

“Hey!” He sneered indignantly. “It’s not that bad.”

“Sure,” she smiled. “Whatever makes you feel better fleet feet.”

Wally just threw his head back and laughed and Artemis wore her famous smirk. Deep down it just killed her inside. It was her selfish decision to stay, to follow her heart. Seeing him laugh and smile like nothing could happen broke her heart.

Artemis’ smile was bright and genuine as Wally rambled on about something. She didn’t really listen, instead she watched. She watched how his eyes sparkled as he talked about the things he loved. She noticed the millions of tiny freckles dotting his nose. She could see how he never stopped moving.

Eventually, the time came, around nine o’ clock, when they both had to split ways. They briefly exchanged numbers and got ready for work. Tigress departed out the kitchen window and Wally dashed out the door. As the lab coat toting speedster dashed by Artemis chuckled and shook her head before she slipped back into the shadows and headed off into the late morning towards her next job.


End file.
